We all gathered in London to celebrate my dad’s birthday celebration dinner cruise on the Thames River this July 2022. We heard a lot about it and wanted to celebrate this occasion on the Thames River cruise. It is a fantastic place to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries etc. I booked the tickets for 6 of us from Viator which was the London Dinner cruise on the Thames River. My wife and I travelled from Tallinn, Estonia and my mom, brother and his wife travelled from New Delhi, India.
It was a special occasion, as it is very rare that we are able to gather all in London after so long. Especially due to Covid restrictions lasting 2 years. It has been a rough time for friends and family to gather. So here we are at the Westminster Pier sharp by 6.30 pm. Even though our cruise will start by 7 pm. We wanted to make sure that we reach in time and in case of any issues with finding the cruise we have ample time to go to the right place.
Dinner Cruise Starting Point
We had to reach the departure point which was: Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JH, UK. See the map below.
At the entry which was the boarding point gate, we walked along and were greeted by the ticket checker. we had our London Dinner cruise on the Thames River in hand. Also, Viator sent us a mail where we can add the ticket to the Apple wallet as well.
We waited in the waiting area to post our ticket check. And we were called to get inside the cruise in like another 10 minutes or so. I was super excited to see the Thames River, Lastminute.com London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We were asked to queue and we entered the cruise and were given a table for six next to the window. The fantastic view around, while the cruise was a little wobbly.
4 Course Meal Experience at Dinner Cruise
We sat for a while and the background music started playing. The cruise was moving along and we crossed London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Tower Bridge, and Canary Wark. While enjoying the London city views. The Food service started and we were first served some drinks. We had the option of having alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. By default, they were serving Sparkling wine.
Bread, butter and Salad for Starters
we were served Bread, butter, and Salad, as we opted for the vegetarian option when we were booking for the cruise. Just want to highlight that please do make sure that when you are doing your booking, please share your food choice i.e. vegetarian, non-vegetarian and any allergies in advance. When you are placing your booking you will be asked about your food preferences.
Vegetarian Artichokes Lasagne for the main course
had Lasagne Of Artichokes, Spinach And Sauté Of Mixed Mushrooms, and Goats Cheese (V), Served With Seasonal Vegetables. The meal was delicious and was enough for one person. We ordered some wine. It was overall a good combination of food and drink.
Chocolate Truffle cake for Dessert
Finally, we reached the dessert and we got white, Dark And Milk Chocolate Truffle Cake (V) Served With A Raspberry Coulis. The dessert was too big for my wife, so we said we want only one. And my mother knowing diabetic, asked for tea for her instead.
After dessert, we all had the option of coffee, or tea as a palate cleanser.
I wished we had a cake as well, would have been awesome to cut it on the cruise, but we completely forgot about it. Anyways, overall the meal was delicious and all six of us enjoyed it.
Live performance at the Cruise
There was nice celebration-related music all the time in the background. After our meals, there was a live performance and the anchor was asking everyone to share the reason for their visit to come to the dinner cruise today. The majority of the people were celebrating their birthdays or anniversaries. The anchor came to us and asked us as well, we shared it was our dad’s birthday. So everyone gave a round of applause and wished him a happy birthday.
The whole cruise was full of positive vibes and everyone enjoyed it. We all started dancing later and took loads of pictures of all of London’s iconic buildings. As the festive time of the year is approaching you can also book the Christmas Dinner Party Cruise to have fantastic Christmas celebrations with your friends, office colleagues and family.
From Westminster Pier to HMS Belfast and Back
The cruise started from Westminster Pier and we were taken through beautiful London Icons like:
- Westminster Pier
- London Eye
- Shakespeare Globe Theatre
- Tower Bridge
- Canary Warf
- Tower of London
- The Shard
- Sea Life London Aquarium
- St Pauls Cathedral
- HMS Belfast
- Canary Wark
- Cutty Sark
- O2 Arena
- Old Royal Naval College
Overall Experience at Thames River Dinner Cruise
It was a fantastic place to celebrate a birthday or any occasion you want to make it special. We enjoyed the food, live music, and ambience set on the cruise. The duration of the cruise is less than 3 hours or so. It is a perfect place for any celebration. We enjoyed our time and at the end of the day when you have your family the time always becomes enjoyable and amazing.
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